Personal Finance

Does it make sense to buy a house when you're still single?

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  • Nov 25th, 2009 10:55 am
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Jan 15, 2009
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Does it make sense to buy a house when you're still single?

Are there any single male or female here that bought a house and lived alone?

Everyone I know who are buying houses are couples who are looking to start a family together. But what if you don't find that special someone (refer to the recent 'shy' thread), are you resigned to living in condos or your parent's basement forever? On the other hand, it seems a bit odd to buy all that space and it's just you occupying it. I'm not talking about a mansion or anything, just a $250K-$300K townhouse.
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If you can do it, do it. Just remind yourself if you do meet that special someone you'll most likely have to sell and move elsewhere, unless they love the area you live in as well.
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May 5, 2006
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I like it! Having extra rooms to stash stuff is kinda nice, even if I don't use all the bedrooms. I've lived in really small spaces and comparatively large spaces... I much prefer rattling around in a house by myself than being in a smaller more 'fitted' space.
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Aug 21, 2008
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There's nothing wrong with owning a house by yourself. It's an investment that you live in :)
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I strongly disagree.

Clearly a poor investment decision if you choose to "buy your first" house when you not involved with another person.

Far too many obligations for one individual to maintain.

Again, I strongly advise a more suitable place for living for the short-term until further decisions are thoroughly thought out and finalized.
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Feb 28, 2006
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I think is much better to buy a house when you are single.. Once you get married and then later in life you get divorced, then you won't have to splt your house with your future-evil wife any more since its not part of the marital property, since you brought it to the marriage
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Apr 1, 2004
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latin-dss wrote: I think is much better to buy a house when you are single.. Once you get married and then later in life you get divorced, then you won't have to splt your house with your future-evil wife any more since its not part of the marital property, since you brought it to the marriage
Yeah... at least for most of Canada, this is not correct.
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Nov 7, 2009
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I recommend it if you can do it. I did it age 24. I had some good equity into it before I got married at 29. When it comes to buying properties its best to get involved as eariler as possible. Compare prices today from 10-15yrs ago and you will see why.
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YoungDr3amer wrote: I strongly disagree.

Clearly a poor investment decision if you choose to "buy your first" house when you not involved with another person.

Far too many obligations for one individual to maintain.

Again, I strongly advise a more suitable place for living for the short-term until further decisions are thoroughly thought out and finalized.
Why do you say that? A properly sited house shouldn't be much more trouble than an apartment or a house with other people. My 50-year-old aunt has lived in a house caring for my paralyzed uncle by herself for nearly a decade now.
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angel_wing0 wrote: +1. Nothing wrong with that. I know tons of single ppl that own their own condo.
I am a single person with my own condo.
But I would ultimately like to upgrade to a house even if I'm still single. (PM me if you want to know why I think houses are better than condos.)

Houses are excellent hedges against inflation, and I think that owning one is the cornerstone of personal wealth.
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Jucius Maximus wrote: (PM me if you want to know why I think houses are better than condos.)
Just post the reasons here. I personally wouldn't buy a condo because I think they combine all the worst qualities of houses and apartments, but people seem to love them these days.
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In order for us to come to an adequate conclusion, we would need more information from the OP.

With specifics and given individual realities, possible proposals can be discussed and decided what is best for him/her.
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randomthoughts wrote: I like it! Having extra rooms to stash stuff is kinda nice, even if I don't use all the bedrooms. I've lived in really small spaces and comparatively large spaces... I much prefer rattling around in a house by myself than being in a smaller more 'fitted' space.
Yes, I can picture the freedom - I tend to think better when I'm in that kind of environment as opposed to the cramped sardine can compartment that we call a condo.

Are there any drawbacks or pitfalls that you've come across though? YoungDr3amer's post alluded to the fact that I could potentially waste the 1-time use of the First Home Buying Plan and also the fact that I could be overwhelmed with other obligations.
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Oct 26, 2009
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I hate condos because of the maintenance fees.

However, if you have the money, buy a house that you can live in & rent.
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Piro21 wrote: If you can do it, do it. Just remind yourself if you do meet that special someone you'll most likely have to sell and move elsewhere, unless they love the area you live in as well.

Oh I can do it. Basically, I should be able to afford a $300K home. But I'm extremely cautious as there is no turning back once I make the decision.
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Aug 27, 2004
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showmethemoney2009 wrote: Are there any single male or female here that bought a house and lived alone?

Everyone I know who are buying houses are couples who are looking to start a family together. But what if you don't find that special someone (refer to the recent 'shy' thread), are you resigned to living in condos or your parent's basement forever? On the other hand, it seems a bit odd to buy all that space and it's just you occupying it. I'm not talking about a mansion or anything, just a $250K-$300K townhouse.
Define "house" please.

Are you talking about a single-family house?

Are you talking about a 'real' (or freehold) townhouse? i.e. you own a piece of land, but there are other units on each side of your unit.

Are you talking about a 'fake' (or condo) townhouse? i.e. you own a floor or two, you don't have a real basement/garage/etc, and you pay condo fees.

My view: if anything, a bigger property is a wiser bet for a single person. If you believe, as I do, that the market will crash, and you haven't completely given up on love and coupledom, it's PROBABLY a good thing to have a place where your new spouse could move in and where ideally you could fit a kid or two in a pinch. The last thing you want is to lose a huge bundle because whoops, you can't fit your new spouse in the condo that was just right for a single person and you HAVE to sell in a down market.

Finally, as some others have said, if you're considering getting married down the road, ask your lawyer about the dreaded two words: matrimonial home. At least some provinces have very draconian rules on what happens to the matrimonial home on divorce - it's not the usual "you get to keep what you brought to the marriage" rule...
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YoungDr3amer wrote: I strongly disagree.

Clearly a poor investment decision if you choose to "buy your first" house when you not involved with another person.

Far too many obligations for one individual to maintain.

Again, I strongly advise a more suitable place for living for the short-term until further decisions are thoroughly thought out and finalized.
This is a bunch of BS. You have no idea what the OPs financial situation is so how can you claim there are "too many obligations for one individual to maintain" ?

I bought my house when I was single. Granted I was in a long-term relationship and expecting a move-in shortly, but nothing is in stone. There are no more "obligations" when owning a house than renting or owning a condo, other than possibly having to keep a larger area clean - but like others have said, if you don't use all the rooms, no need to clean them all, just shut the door and don't worry about them.
To be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. -- E. E. Cummings
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showmethemoney2009 wrote: Oh I can do it. Basically, I should be able to afford a $300K home. But I'm extremely cautious as there is no turning back once I make the decision.
You can always just get a short-term mortgage, like 1-3 years. So if you don't like it then sell and move back to a condo / apt.
To be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. -- E. E. Cummings
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Feb 5, 2009
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Icedawn wrote: Yeah... at least for most of Canada, this is not correct.
Isn't it? I thought it worked like this:

- OP brings $300k home into marriage
- OP and wife divorce while home is worth $350k
- Wife gets half of the $50k increase, not half of the $350k value

So it's not quite as simple as latin-dss said, but he wasn't far off.

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